Region receiving $200,000 in relief funds
away,’’ Jamie said, referring to the couple’s daughters, Savanah and Sienna.
‘‘Once full tide has passed, if nothing’s happened, we’ll head back home.’’
In 2018, the Riuwaka burst its banks and the water crossed the field behind the Milnes’ house and flooded their yard.
That flood came with such force that it pushed in the back fence, overwhelmed the septic system and rushed into the back of the garage where it knocked over two chest freezers. Sewage roared back up the pipes into the house.
Water also made its way into the Milnes’ yard from the front in 2018 so on Tuesday, the couple laid sandbags along the front of their property to help prevent a recurrence.
‘‘The rain has nowhere to go,’’ Jamie said.
Choat said yesterday morning that the Riuwaka river was one of the main concerns of the day, particularly around midday when heavy rainfall was expected to coincide with high tides.
Rivers in Golden Bay and elsewhere across Tasman District had fallen back from the high levels of Wednesday, they were starting to rise again yesterday morning as the rain continued.
The Riuwaka River was tipped to reach 178 cubic metres a second (cumecs) while its banks were rated for 190 cumecs, Choat said.
Tasman mayor Tim King said yesterday the Riuwaka River was one that was being closely watched along with those in Golden Bay as they started to rise again.
‘‘They haven’t dropped as much [as usual] with the subsequent rain forecast and falling,’’ King said. ‘‘It’s such an extended rain event.’’
As had been shown with the Maitai River on Wednesday, intense rain in one location could make a river rise quickly.
King said slips were also a concern along with tree falls if the wind got up ‘‘because the ground is so sodden’’.
He urged people to stay home if they did not need to travel but to self-evacuate if they were concerned for their safety.
Residents of Marahau, at the northern end of Abel Tasman National Park, were nervous about the incessant rain. The small community was hit by massive slips during ex-cyclone Gita in 2018.
Choat said 23 homes in Bishopdale in Nelson were evacuated about 4pm yesterday.
Choat said the whole region had been affected by the weather. In Nelson, because it was urban, the affects of the rain had been more visual, but Golden Bay had also been badly hit.
The relentlessness of the rain and the saturation of the land had caused the problems.